


Pocketful of Posies

by Inareskai



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Anxiety Attacks, Character Death, Chronic Illness, Diabetes, Gen, Implied/Referenced Death, Minor mention of the Marauders, Sadness, War Aftermath, cystic fibrosis
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-13
Updated: 2020-01-13
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:55:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22245943
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Inareskai/pseuds/Inareskai
Summary: When Poppy Pomfrey started her job as Matron at Hogwarts, she longed to be someone’s favourite teacher. Time taught her sometimes you should be careful what you wish for.
Comments: 7
Kudos: 43





	Pocketful of Posies

**Author's Note:**

> This one is not happy folks, please don't read it if it's going to upset you - look at the tags. 
> 
> Written for the Hinny Discord prompt: 'Think about a teacher who inspired you. What would you say to them if they walked through the door right now?'. I'll admit that this is a weird take on this prompt, but you get what you get, fight me.

The first time Madam Pomfrey knew she was a student’s favourite teacher was in her 3rd year on the job. A muggle-born student (or rather, their parents) had written a number of concerned letters to the school regarding the management of Magnolia’s diabetes. She’d had it since she was a tiny child and they’d managed it ok at home, but they’d gotten quite worked up about sending her away. It was really no bother from a treatment perspective. After every meal Maggie would pop up to the infirmary and Poppy would take a drop of blood with a quick spell, putting it on the tester her parents sent in bulk.

 _‘This is way better than the finger stabber!´_ Maggie had cried in delight the first few weeks of term, which had made Poppy curious about the sort of things muggles did to themselves.

There had been some ups and downs with Maggie, for a Ravenclaw she occasionally made some really unwise decisions regarding her diet, but it had always been manageable. Poppy and Maggie had been quite close by the end of her time at Hogwarts, owing to seeing each other 3 times a day, every day, for the majority of the year. She’d left for a job as a botanical herbologist after her 7th year, setting up an amazing tea shop just South of Newcastle. Occasionally Poppy stopped in during the holidays, she still got all her drinks on the house. She loved being a ‘favourite’ teacher.

***

There were the students who dropped in and out of her care a lot. She’d never forget the scrappy and over-confident group of boys who called themselves – Poppy hoped jokingly – the ‘Marauders’. She saw dear Remus at least once a month, of course, often more often than that when he needed something for the pain and bruises a few days after. In the early years he would come by some days just to talk to her and let out how he was feeling about his illness, since no one else knew and there was such a stigma around telling anyone.

Later in his school career he and his wild, handsome, witty friends would come in for all sorts of scrapes. She was only a few years their senior, having graduated only a little before they started, and young Mr Black always managed to convince her not to report their more suspicious wounds ( _‘Antler wounds, just how have you managed that?!’_ ) to McGonagall. After every incident one of them would leave a little box of her favourite Honeydukes and a small bunch of poppies on her desk. They were so full of life and laughter that Poppy could almost see their brilliant futures in their eyes, the places they would go, the things they would do, the witches and wizards they would enchant.

But war takes a great many things and offers little in return, and there were only poppies on top of their graves.

***

Antonius Darton has adored Poppy, and she had been very fond of him. A Slytherin with parents who cared more about the fact their son had something that would ‘devalue the family name’ and not his need for extra support, Tony had spent many nights in the hospital wing under her care.

Jesslewart’s Indent was a rare-but-not-unheard-of magical illness that manifested from birth, occasionally but not always caused by the mother having had severe Pixie-Spots as a child. A lot of the time he could stand and walk well enough, but other days the pain would be too much, or his balance would be so off-kilter there was nothing to do but let him lie in peace and quiet. Hogwarts was, for the most part, a lonely existence for him. But home never seemed much better.

He’d been so unwell so often, regularly missing classes and quidditch and Hogsmeade weekends. As time went on they started having small rituals; a game of cards, elaborate story-telling, just having a chat about everything and nothing, small things to give him positive interactions. Together they’d laughed until they were wiping tears from their eyes and he’d left the hospital wing in good spirits instead of anxiously counting down to his next time there. He reminded Poppy of every reason she’d ever had for taking the job at Hogwarts instead of pursuing something more ‘prestigious’.

His family had sent him off to relatives in America when they’d realised he wouldn’t be able to make a good Pure-Blood match in their marriage market. After he’d gone he still wrote on occasion. He’d met a lovely… No-Maj, she thinks he’d called her… who had loved him for all that he was. His first daughter was named Poppy. She was honoured to be his favourite.

***

The mingle of muggle and magical illnesses Poppy dealt with over all her years at Hogwarts gave her a very good repertoire of references for a range of illnesses. Which muggle remedies might help supposedly ‘difficult to manage’ magical illnesses and which spells could relieve an asthma attack with ease. And yet the world would always throw a curveball to make things harder.

Juliet appeared at Hogwarts with Cystic Fibrosis – not a muggle condition Poppy had much familiarity with. But she went at it with gusto, she tried a number of spells to clear the mucus completely and they certainly helped for short periods of time. Juliet was a quiet hard worker, she reminded Poppy so much of her younger self.

_‘When I’m older and we’ve figured out a way to make me better, I think I’m going to be a healer too. Maybe a matron, so I can help kids.’_

_‘You do that Jules, you’ll be amazing at it.’_

Poppy hadn’t known what the general muggle prognosis was for Cystic Fibrosis. Juliet had caught a cold after a wet and windy Quidditch match and then she’d gone home for Christmas. She never came back.

Her parents wrote and invited her to the funeral, they’d thanked her for her care while their daughter was at school, they’d gifted her a painting of poppies that Juliet had been working on as a late Christmas present.

_‘You were her favourite person there, trying so hard to keep her well.’_

For the first time she was brutally aware of how unfair the world was that some children’s favourite teacher was also the nurse.

***

During the rise of Voldemort and after the final battle she became the support for a great number of staff and students, and even some members of the Order and other volunteers.

They came to her for seemingly everything, coming to the infirmary or Flooing her asking fo assistance; ‘just a check up’ they’d say, as she dealt with small injuries that brought back memories they didn’t want to tell a healer at St Mungo’s, or consoled crying students who couldn’t go into certain classrooms anymore. The students who’d had their first year during that time. They all said she was their favourite teacher, not the Arithmancy teacher who never set Friday homework or the Defence teacher who made small jokes to let them know they were safe in her lessons.

She hated that she was their favourite.

***

When she’d started as Matron, she’d longed to be a favourite teacher. She retired many years later and at the hand over her replacement had asked her for any insider tips.

‘Hope you’re never someone’s favourite.’


End file.
